Hiking and Watching Birds in Arfak Mountains

Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata)

Watching Endemic Birds of New Guinea
Arfak range in the south of Manokwari city has been considered as a must see destination for birdwatchers. Every year visitors from Europe, Australia, North America go to Mount Soyti, Mount Indon, Mount Imubri and Mount Mabowi to watch such birds as Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata), Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata), Magnificent Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus), Arfak Astrapia that are endemic to Vogelkop region.

Watching Tree Kangaroo

Tree Kangaroo

As a matter of fact, it is not only birds that birdwatchers will be able to see in the jungle of Arfak mountains but also other animals such as cuscus possum, and tree kangaroo.
Mount Imubri that is located around 9 hours of walk from the main road is the best site for watching grizzled and ursine tree kangaroo. Cuscus possum can be watched in the jungle of Mount Mabowi and Mount Imubri. Visitors who want to go there have to be fit physically. I regularly organize trekking trips to Mount Imubri to watch birds and marsupial animals in the jungle.

How to get there?
Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia)
Fly to Manokwari city (the capital of West Papua province)
I could meet you at the airport and organize your trip to Arfak mountains for watching birds and other wild animals.

Duration of the trip
Visitors usually spend 3 days/ 2 nights in the lower montane forest and another 3 days/ 2 nights in the upper montane forest. My recommended birding sites will be going to Mount Mabowi for watching Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) and the nocturnal Cuscus Possum; and then going to the jungle of Mount Soyti to watch Vogelkop Bowerbird, Western Parotia and Magnificent Birds of Paradise.

What you need to bring:

• Bring binoculars
• Bring camera with telephoto lens + extra batteries
• Bring torch/ flashlight
• Bring sleeping bag
• If possible, please, buy Birds of New Guinea as your main reference for birdwatching in this region. Reading that book, you will have a very good knowledge of avifauna world of New Guinea when where every species will most likely to occur.

As a tourist guide, I have organized numerous trips to Arfak mountains for visitors who want to watch birds and other wild animals as well as see beautiful
For further info of traveling and wildlife watching in Arfak mountains, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Watching Birds and Flowers in Arfak Mountains

Arfak range is considered as the mecca of birdwatching. But it is also a must visit destination for those who want to see rhododendron flowers, orchid, nepenthes and myrmecophyte that grow in their natural habitat.

Little Paradise Kingfisher

The lower montane forest in Mount Mabowi is the site where visitors can watch Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), various species of pigeons and kingfisher as well as Papuan Frogmouth. In addition to birds, there are cuscus possum, soa-soa lizard and wild pigs that made the jungle as their habitat. Bamboo trees are the best place for those who want to see glowing mushroom especially during rainy season.

Vogelkop Bowerbird in Arfak range

For Upper Montane Forest such as the jungle of Mount Soyti, visitors can watch Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata), Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata), Magnificent Birds of Paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus). The jungle of Mount Soyti is also a good site for visitors who want to see New Guinea Impatient Flowers.
As a tour guide, I often arrange tours to Arfak mountains for visitors who want to see birds in Mount Mabowi, and Mount Soyti as well as flowers on tops of the mountains that surround Anggi lakes.

Myrmecophyte in Arfak mountains

Various species of flowers grow in the villages along the lakes, on steep slopes and on tops of Arfak mountains. From my previous trips, I saw giant Myrmecophyte on top of Mount Sensenemes at the elevation of 2730 meters above sea level. There were a lot of Rhododendron konori and Rhododendron laetum as well as terrestrial orchids and other tropical flowers in the region.
Sightseeing

Lake Anggi Giji

You will see magnificent scenery of the villages, the lakes, slopes and deep ravines when you stand on top of Mount Sensenemes or Mount Kobrey of Arfak range.

How to get there?

• Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) or to Denpasar Bali (the tourism hub of Indonesia).
• Fly to Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province
• I could meet you in town and organize your trip to Arfak mountains.

Cost
The cost of traveling around Arfak mountains by chartered 4wd car is quite expensive. Therefore, I suggest that participants of the tour should be around 3 to 4 people to share the cost.
For customized itenerary and cost, please, contact me by email to Charles Roring: peace4wp@gmail.com if you are interested in traveling to Arfak mountains of Manokwari.

Tropical rainforest preservation and ecotourism

Tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains in West Papua is facing deforestation rapidly at the moment. This problem has been the focus of attention of a lot of people who love Papua's nature very much. For instance, much of the rainforest area in the flat region of Prafi valley of Manokwari regency has been converted into agricultural area where farmers grow rice, and plantation companies operate CPO plant there. To produce crude palm oil (CPO), thousands of hectares of rainforest biome have to be cleared for monoculture sawit plantations.
The rainforest of Prafi whose biodiversity was very high has now gone forever.

To prevent the continuous destruction of rainforest, an alternative way of income generation should be developed. As a matter of fact, there are many solutions for that. First, the indigenous people can harvest non-timber products such as herbs, orchids and other tropical flowers, as well as rattan and meat from their forests to be sold in the local market. Another interesting scheme which is very effective in improving the economic condition of the indigenous Papuan people living in and around the forest is through the development of ecotourism project.

Three days ago, I brought 7 tourists from the Netherlands to Arfak mountains. We visited Kwau village. These Dutch tourists, in their old age, went hiking or trekking inside the jungle to watch magnificent birds of paradise, spotted cat bird and bower bird.
To help them locate where these birds are, Hans Mandacan, the owner of Kwau tourist guest house, built several huts. These bird watching huts would be used by the tourists to see birds from very close distance in the morning and in the afternoon. Because every hut could only be occupied with a maximum of four tourists, we had to divide the group into two smaller groups. They would shift huts in the mornings and in the afternoons. Since bird watching activities need patience, tourists were told not to have loud conversations while staying in the huts.
The Dutch tourists did 3 bird watching trips from the 4th to 6st of December 2010. During those trips, they could watch magnificent birds of paradise (male and female), spotted cat birds (also male and female), and vogelkop bower bird (perhaps the male one). Because they were late when entering the hut for watching the bower bird, they could only saw him in less than one minute.
In addition to watching birds, these Dutch tourists also saw how Hans Mandacan made the extract of red fruit oil (Pandanus Conoideus Lam). The indigenous Papuan who live in and around the rainforest of Arfak mountains have used the extract of the red fruit in their diet for thousands of years. Physically they have strong bodies and are not easily to be attacked by any tropical diseases. Recent reports from researchers in Cendrawasih University have shown that the extract of red fruit oil can effectively be used for the treatment of patients with tumors in the brain, breast, womb, and even the treatment of patients who are infected with HIV/ AIDS virus.
The short description about the preservation of tropical rainforest through the development of ecotourism with emphasis on bird watching, insect watching, herbal medicine study and butterfly farming can bring positive economic benefits to the indigenous Papuan people of the Arfak mountains.
I expect that the central, provincial and local governments will pay attention to this and  help the Papuan develop their ecotourism projects in Arfak mountains through the improvement of infrastructure, the guesthouse and various other programs that can make the indigenous people of Papua more prosperous without jeopardising their precious rainforest environment. by Charles Roring
Also read:
Tropical rainforest flowers
Tropical rainforest preservation in District Senopi
Tropical rainforest of Numfor island

Bowers of the Bower Bird in the Arfak Mountains

by Charles Roring 

I woke up immediately from a cold night and hard sleep and walked to the front room to prepare our breakfast when Rhett's alarm clock rang at 5 a.m. It was 31 July.  While pouring hot water into my glass to make my morning coffee, Zakaria (our local field guide) and Rhett Bulter - founder of mongabay.com came. I asked Zaka to call Elyakim (our birdman) to have breakfast together. I reminded him to bring my flash light so that we could use it again to climb one of the summits of the Arfak mountains while it was still dark.

We would hike this morning to see Western parotia and vogelkop bowerbirds perform their courtship dances seducing their female birds. I and our two Papuans field guides drank coffee while Rhett had lemon tea. We ate bread and biscuits. A few minutes before 5.30, we began walking from our base camp. Maria, another tour guide, who was boiling some water greeted us and told us to be careful along our trip to the mountain.

It was very cold at 1,400 meters above sea level where the tourist basecamp was located. We began climbing the mountain to 1700 meters and then 2200 meters and then 2400 meters above sea level just to see the bower birds and western parotia.

Our base camp was separated with the mountain that we would be climbing on by a river whose cool water chills the atmosphere of the Syioubri village. The water  stream continuously change the mountainous rocks into rounded and smooth granite stones where we walked on them. After crossing the river, the terrain slowly changed from flat ground to steep slope around 70 degrees quite difficult for a beginning hiker like me :-(.

While most of the villagers in the Syioubri village were still sleeping, birds in the tropical rainforest of Arfak Mountains had woken up welcoming the sunrise. Up we went slowly navigated by my flashlight and guided by our two Papuan birdman and porter.

When we had been walking for 30 minutes, my body temperature rose. I was fully sweating now and I did not feel effected by the cold atmosphere around me. I pulled down the zipper of my jacket, opened and folded it and then put it into my travel bag. The sun had just risen in the East started to brighten the canopy of the rainforest of the Arfak mountains. I did not need my flashlight anymore. I turned it off and put it back into my travel bag again.

We continued climbing the mountain until we reached a clear ground where some male Western Parotia usually performed their courtship dance to attract their females. We stopped here. Our field guides asked Rhett to enter a small bird watching hut. When he had been inside with his cameras, we covered it again with fresh Pandanus leaves and left Rhett Butler alone in the hut. I and the two field guides climbed the mountain again for around 5 minutes. We would be waiting for him for 1 hour to record the courtship dance that would be performed by the male western parotia. We had been sitting on the ground that was covered with moss when suddenly the rain started to fall. First, it was only a light rain. But later after around ten minutes, it became harder making it impossible for Male Western Parotia to perform his courtship dance. The ground where the bird would perform his dance was now muddy. I and Elyakim walked down to call Rhett to continue hiking to reach the hut that had been built for watching bower bird. It was another 30 minutes hiking. The hut was big enough to accommodate two people. When we arrived at the hut, we could hear the sound of male bower bird on the branches of the trees above us. Rhett hurriedly entered the bird watching hut. Elyakim, our birdman took some bright objects from his bag and put them on the ground not far from the bower. He expected that the bowerbird would come down to take the objects and decorate his bower. Again I and the two field guides climbed the Arfak mountain to a base camp located some 1700 meters above sea level. Here, we would wait for Rhett to film the vogelkop bowerbird performing the courtship dance until 9 a.m. It's very cold here, I wore my jacket again.

While waiting at the basecamp, I saw a male white shouldered fairy wren was being chased by female birds. It's weird to see such scene. If male bower birds try hard to decorate their bowers and perform their best courtship dance, the male white shouldered fairy wren birds do not need to seduce their females. They have abundant females that are willing to chase them the whole day. At that time I saw two female  white shouldered bird chased one male. It was 8.30 a.m. when I saw the birds of white shouldered fairy wren. The male bird had dark feather with white band decorate his shoulder. The female birds had brown feather. At first I did not know their names but Elyakim opened his Bird of New Guinea book and showed the pictures of the birds and their names.

We walked down to meet Rhett Butler at the bird watching hut when my mobile phone watch indicated that it was 9.15. Rhett said that the bower birds did not come down to their bowers. So, we climbed the Arfak mountain again to see more bowers at an elevation of around 2200 - 2400 meters above sea level. At these heights, we could see some more bowers decorated with natural bright ornaments instead of plastics and plates at bowers on the lower level 1700 meters above sea level. Unfortunately, there was no bird watching hut which had been constructed by our birdmen for tourists to see the bower bird dancing and seducing their female birds. I took some photographs of these magnificent structure which had been built by bower birds. Bowers are not nests. Bower birds are great architect that build their bowers without any mathematical calculation. Perhaps they build the structure using their animal instinct through a lot of trials and errors. Young bower birds have to learn from their adult counterparts the art of bower building and the art of courtship dance to attract their female bower birds. Somewhere on the summits of the Arfak mountains, male bower birds that are kings of the art of seduction perform their courtship dance to attract and seduce their females far from human civilization where love is now getting more materialistic than pure natural heart expression. by Charles Roring.

If you are interested in traveling to Arfak mountains for a bird watching trip and need me to arrange the trip and guide you, please contact me at: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180
Also read:

• Birding in Sonder
• Birding in Paddy Fields of Sonder in Minahasa Highland
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in Sonder of Minahasa
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